Spaying your dog is an important procedure which prevents unwanted pregnancies, decreases the risk of mammary cancer, and completely eliminates the risk of pyometra.
What is Pyometra?
Pyometra is a serious and life-threatening infection which only occurs in non-spayed female dogs. The uterus will expand, filling with bacteria, pus and toxins, which leads to blood poisoning which can be fatal. The symptoms include vomiting, lethargy, vaginal discharge, increased thirst and increased urination.
If your dog has pyometra, she will need emergency surgery which is far riskier, longer and more complicated than a routine spay. Recovery will also be slower and your dog may need to be kept at The Vet overnight for monitoring.
How to prevent Pyometra
The only way to avoid any risk of pyometra, is to get your dog spayed which is the removal of the ovaries and uterus. We generally recommend this to happen from 6 months of age. It can be done before her first season or 2 to 3 months after a season. A routine spay and general anaesthetic on a healthy patient is much safer than an emergency surgery on a critically ill patient.
How to arrange for your dog to be spayed
You can pop in at any time during our consulting hours with no appointment needed and a vet will do a pre-op check, making sure your dog is fit to be spayed. The procedure will be booked in to take place on another day.
On the day, we’ll double check that your dog is still healthy and good to undergo the operation. We’ll place a catheter into a vein in her front leg and give her anaesthetic drugs, so that she is asleep and cannot feel a thing during the operation.
The anaesthetic drugs we use are very safe and all of our patients are monitored constantly by qualified veterinary nurses. After the operation, your dog will recover in our dog ward where she will continue to be monitored while she comes around from the anaesthetic. She will be given pain-killers to keep her comfortable and she can even go home the same day!
If you’re interested in having your pet neutered, visit us today at The Vet during our consulting hours, we have plenty of free parking and there is no appointment needed!
